VILLAGERS who say they are fed up with heavy traffic and speeding drivers have formed an action group.

The Dobwalls by-pass was constructed in 2008, bringing relief to a village which had long been split in half by the noisy and busy A38 trunk road.

But according to people living alongside the former A38, the traffic is still heavier than it should be through the village. Residents say that lorries and and vans are using the road to get to the Moorswater Industrial Estate, rather than going the long way around on the by-pass - and they say that many motorists flout the 30mph speed limit through the village.

The Dobwalls Road Safety group has been formed to tackle the issue. A spokesperson for the group said: ‘We’ve got a lot of local commercial vehicles still coming through here that shouldn’t be, using it as a short cut. And we think that SatNav is directing others that aren’t local through the village to get to Moorswater.

‘People come through here way too fast, and residents are very fed up with it. There’s nowhere safe to cross, and there’s more houses being built here, which will make the problem worse.’

In the long term, the safety group would like to see speed cameras in the village centre, and in the meantime, they hope than monitoring will be done to obtain evidence on the number and speed of vehicles coming through.

A meeting is set to take place on June 25 to discuss what actions could be taken, and Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for Transport, Geoff Brown, has agreed to attend.

Giving her backing to the residents’ group is Cornwall Councillor for Dobwalls Jane Pascoe.

‘I’ve been aware of the problems with speeding in Dobwalls village ever since I was elected, and I’ve been trying to get one of the sensor boxes installed,’ she said.

‘I think the by-pass has made it a better village, what we need to make everyone aware of now is that it IS a village. There will be children and the elderly crossing the road, and we need to get people to get their speed down and adhere to the speed limit.

‘We need statistics first, in order to get any equipment such as flashing signs put in place,’ Cllr Pascoe continued.

‘Maybe we also need signs that say ‘alternative route for lorries’.

‘I’m delighted that the residents have taken this into their own hands and I’m very happy to work with the Dobwalls Road Safety Group.’